Tuesday 8 January 2013



Hello Folks:

Welcome to those of you who are checking out this site for the first time – I hope you find the virtual side of the farm informative and entertaining.  If you have any questions about purchasing a share for the season, feel free to contact me at the number below.

For the past week, I have been looking for alternate sources of seed (see last week’s post regarding changes in certification requirements).  I have been able to locate most of the seed from a couple of smaller seed producers here in Canada.  As of this writing, the Sprouting Broccoli, Komatsuma, and Vivid Choi are the only items I have yet to find a replacement source.

As part of our ongoing search for foods we wish to develop in the future, I have had a limited amount of success.

My latest lead for Organic Sweet Potato slips has ended in the backyard of a gardening enthusiast that has no official organic certification.  Another item I cannot find is the organic Asparagus seed.   I have located organic starter stalks from US sources, though as these are live plants, they are subject to import/export rules and I cannot bring them across the border.

Parsnip seed is another vegetable that is proving elusive.  One of the seed houses I purchase from (High Mowing Organic Seeds in Vermont) has had their own share of difficulties producing the seed.  They have recently posted a short essay on the challenges of Parsnips, you can learn more about it here: 
I am pleased to have found Rhubarb seed.  It will take 12 to 18 months for this crop to grow to maturity, so we all have plenty of time to set aside some recipes for this uniquely flavoured food.

A couple of you have commented about the taste of vegetables.

There are many variables related to the taste of food.  Different varieties of the same crop will have slightly different flavours.  I noticed a difference between the Scarlet Nantes Carrots and the Berlicummer Carrots last year, the Nantes being a little more flavourful. 

Compare the Tomatoes grown on our farm or in your backyard with the product on store shelves.  The commercially produced tomato varieties are hybrids selected for resistance to disease, resistance to adverse field conditions, uniformity in appearance, and durability for shipping and shelf life.  Flavour and nutrient content are an afterthought.  To paraphrase Elliot Coleman, “Tome – EH – toes” are available in the grocery stores, but a farm grown “Tome – AWE – toe” fruit can be an extraordinary taste experience.

Weather and growing conditions make a big difference for the flavour of many crops.  Heat and cold, amount of water and other factors alter the chemistry of the food.

Cabbage family crops are known for improving their taste after exposure to cold.  I have heard that some growers will not even think of picking their brussels sprouts until after their first frost.  Hot, dry weather tends to make them stronger tasting, and the cold weather moderates the flavour – they tend to become sweeter.  

Carrots and Parsnips also sweeten after frost.  The cold causes the carbohydrates to change from larger starch molecules to smaller sugar molecules.  Celery that experiences too much heat and too little water can become very bitter as well.

The manner in which plants are grown can also have a big difference in flavour.  I had heard for many years that organically grown food tastes better.  I was somewhat sceptical of this until I did some research. 

Leaf crops fed with too much nitrogen will begin to store the extra nutrient as nitrates, which tend to make the food bitter or even metallic tasting.  Store bought Spinach is such an example.  Many people consider Spinach a bitter flavoured food, though in my experience, the difference is immediately noticeable.  I found that both of our Spinach varieties had a very mild flavour, even after experiencing hot dry weather that usually stresses this crop.  Root vegetables such as carrots also have a noticeable difference when fed petroleum based fertilizer.

Answering the question “How does it taste?” can provoke a very long discussion indeed.  As any chef will tell you, the best recipes can only reach their potential with the finest ingredients.